Awakening your element
by dytchen08
Summary: Awakening your element
1. The event

She felt the warm dirt between her toes, leaning back turning her face at the sky. She could feel it - the deep rumble in the ground, sending seismic waves all the way up her body. "It's getting closer," she said, not even bothering to open her eyes. Her body shook and not only because of the earthquake. She could feel the back of her thighs touching the damp ground where her dress had risen up. Her long hair glinted in the sunlight, her face scrunched up almost as in pain. "Are you okay?" Naruto said, scratching his hair with one hand. "She's fine, Naruto," Kakashi said, as he sent Sakura a knowing look. "Sakura has a strong earth affinity so she is more in tune with the movements of the tectonic plates - she just feels it more - erhm deeply". Sasuke grunted, and Naruto looked doubtful. "So sort of like when it's really stormy and I just have to go outside and sense the wind on my face?" he said. "Yes," Kakashi said, "sort of like that." Naruto picked up Sakura's hastily discarded sandals and tried to wait patiently. Sasuke stood rigidly as he scanned the surroundings for potential threats.

"Are you ready to move, soon?" Kakashi asked after what looked like Naruto's third attempt to will Sakura to move by thought alone. "Sakura," he repeatedly asked, "are you ready to move? We need to reach Konoha before nightfall." "Yeees," came the slow reply, as she blinked her way back to the surface. Small tremors was still bubbling throughout her body, and the daylight seemed ruthlessly harsh. She felt as though she had just collapsed from running for her life, and she had a hard time catching her breath. When she noticed all three of her teammates looking at her, she felt her face heating up. She hastily stood up and would have landed back on her butt if Kakashi hadn't grabbed her left arm. "Easy there, Sakura, get some blood back in those legs," he said, as his eye crinkled. "Yes, Sensei," she said meekly trying to keep the mortification out of her voice. She could feel her clammy dress clinging to her legs almost as vividly as Sasuke's judging eyes but she didn't dare to look at him. "I have your sandals, Sakura-chan," Naruto exclaimed with a huge smile plastered on his face. Sakura didn't answer but she sent him a slight smile in return.


	2. What was that?

On the run back Sakura didn't know what to think. She didn't understand how the deep rumbles in the ground could affect her so much. The pungent smell of wet soil rose from her ruined dress, and she couldn't stop thinking about how she had behaved like a fool in front of Sasuke-kun. Maybe it had something to do with her evolving sense of her earth affinity? Hadn't Kakashi-sensei said something about that at one point? How being in the middle of a high energy event of your element could make your body try to reach the same frequency or something like that? And if you succeeded you would get closer to your element and become better at using your affinity? Was that what that was? She had been training a lot recently and her body and therefore her chakra pool had almost finished growing. She sighed. It seemed like someone had stolen her boob-growing karma and she was forever doomed to be a wide forehead, wide hips, small boobs-kind of girl. But hey - perhaps Sasuke was into that. It was hard to judge but it didn't seem like Ino's voluptuous melons of gravity defying awe made Sasuke stop and look twice. Sakura bid her lower lip and sent Kakashi a questioning look. Perhaps he could explain what had happened to her. And more importantly - if it would happen again and how to avoid it when she was on a mission. The pull from the earth had been so strong, so demanding and Sakura hadn't known how to resist. What if it happened deep in enemy territory? That could be dangerous and she would not be a liability to the team. Those days was over. She had sworn to carry her own load and not be the damsel in distress after Sasuke came back. Never again.

When they reached the gates to Konoha Kakashi lifted his arm and made a fist. The rest of the team stopped as per his instructions. "It is late so we won't turn in our mission rapport today," he said, pulling out his book from a hidden pocket. "We will meet on the bridge tomorrow at 8. Dismissed." Sakura shuffled her feet as she tried to gather her courage to ask Kakashi to explain what had happened. Naruto had already run of yelling something about ramen, and Sasuke turned and began walking. "Sakura," Kakashi said, "I'll walk you home." How does he do that? How does he always know when I want to speak to him? Was she really so transparent? She had had kunoichi classes to school her face and body language for kami's sake! "Yes, Sakura, you really are," Kakashi said, as he started walking, his whole body radiating smugness. Sakura had no choice but to follow if she wanted to talk to him.

She tried matching her steps to his longer ones as she thought about how to approach the subject. It was embarrassing, really. She hadn't been herself and the whole experience had been kind of erotic and it had happened right in front him and Naruto and … Sasuke. But this was Kakashi - her sensei. If he couldn't explain it to her then who could she ask? And Kakashi was a good choice to talk about these things with. He had run out and bought her her first pads when she had had her first period that time in Suna, and he had explained to her what it meant regarding training, missions and erhm boys. He hadn't been condescending or too awkward about it either. Actually, he was surprisingly good at these things. And the whole shinobi version of 'The birds and the bees' hadn't been to traumatizing either. Generally, he was quite clinical and respecting about these things so there really wasn't any reason for her hesitation, she said to herself.

"Kakashi-sensei," she asked. "That erhm episode with the earthquake. What was that?" Kakashi hummed. "Hm, what did it feel like happened?" he asked, while he kept reading his little green book. "I don't know!" she exclaimed. "That's why I'm asking you. It was overwhelming and sudden and I think it has to do with my earth affinity but it hasn't happened before and I'm quite embarrassed and what if it happens again? And what if it happens in enemy territory? I couldn't … stop" Sakura paused to catch her breath. "Well," Kakashi said. "In my experience adrenaline is quite effective in stopping that kind of ehm bonding with your affinity. And there is no reason for you to worry - it is quite normal when you have a strong affinity as you do. It's tied to your hormones really, and it is natural and you are a teenager and your body is going through changes. It will wear off as you grow older and become more used to your affinity - or more in tune with it. It's nothing to be embarrassed about - you should celebrate that you are one step closer to becoming a badass kunoichi." Sakura looked at him with wide eyes. "So this happens to other shinobi as well?" she said, clutching her dried dress. "Yes," Kakashi said, looking at her. "It happens to almost every shinobi with a strong affinity. The stronger affinity the stronger the effect. And it is a good thing - it strengthens your element. It will probably also happen to your teammates at one point, although it might take some time as boys mature later than girls." Sakura scrunched her nose. "Yes, Kaka-sensei, boys are terribly immature." Kakashi's eye cringled as he disheveled her hair. "You should buy yourself a piece of that decadent chocolate cake you always indulge in when you have your period," he said, as he ducked when she moved to punch him in the arm. "How do you know that?" she squawked, her cheeks burning. "I'm your sensei. I know everything," Kakashi said, as he sashayed further down the road. "Also," he called, "don't be late tomorrow." "Argh," was Sakuras eloquent answer. She had a lot to think about.


	3. Stronger

Later that night Sakura sat in her bed and tried to come up with a training schedule. She figured if she sought it out - if she tried to make her body more in tune with her earth affinity when she wanted to, there wouldn't be any more events like the one on the way home. And Kakashi-Sensei had said it was natural and that it did indeed make her affinity stronger and she very much wanted to become a strong kunoichi. She wanted to sweep in and save Sasuke-kun next time he was in danger. She would never forget the feeling of waking up on a bench the night Sasuke-kun left. Knowing she had failed, that she hadn't been strong enough to help him or to even follow him. To be discarded like that because she was weak - that could never happen again. And now she even had a head start because she was more mature than the boys! All she really had had up to now was her chakra precision but this was on a completely new level. She could become a jutsu master - hurling huge powerful jutsus left and right as she controlled the very earth we came from! But first, she needed a plan. She should probably go to the library and look up scrolls on earth jutsus and on how to strengthen your affinity. And then she would ask Kakashi-Sensei for some kick ass-jutsus. The shinobi with a thousand jutsus could definitely spare some for her. After all, hadn't he already given Sasuke-kun the pretty, sparkly hand-jutsu -the chidori? And Naruto had the rasengan. It was only fair that she also got a big jutsu. Sakura resolved to talk to Kakashi after the next practice. Then there was the whole question of how to approach the affinity tuning. Hm. She should definitely make sure that she was alone and that she had unrestricted access to the ground. She could probably book a training ground. She would get started next time she had some time off. Actually, she should probably spend as much of her free time on it as possible. It would also be interesting if the effect would be as intense when she wasn't in the middle of a small earthquake. That night when Sakura fell asleep, she dreamt of the earth moving.

The next day Sakura showed up for practice on time as usual. Sasuke was already there standing at the bridge looking at the water. "Hi Sasuke-kun. God morning!" she chirped as she stepped up next to him. Sasuke answered with a small grunt. They waited in silence until Naruto showed up. "Hi Sakura-chan. Sasuke-teme," he hollered as he bounced up next to them. Naruto was smiling and couldn't stand still making a stark contrast to Sasukes almost unnatural stillness, but Sakura didn't notice. She was looking at the small specks of dirt on her toes on her sandal clad feet. They sort of prickled and made her toes almost hum. Wonder what would happen if she took of her sandals and buried her toes in the ground? Would it make the humming sensation stronger? And what if she took of her dress and laid down on the ground? Would it send tingles although out her body like it did last time? Sakura bit her lip and concentrated on the small specks of dirt. "And then I told him that it didn't matter because I am going to become hokage anyway, and that he could never hope to beat me because I am that awesome, and - hey Sakura-chan, are you even listening?" Sakura forced her eyes away from her toes and looked into Naruto's honest blue eyes. "Mmm yes Naruto, of cause I am," she said and she couldn't help sharing a smile with him. "You are such a bad liar, Sakura-chan, but I guess that's part of Sakura-chan's charm," he said in a sudden epiphany of perceptiveness. Or perhaps not all that sudden. Naruto had also grown a lot since the early days. Losing Sasuke, searching for him and finally getting him back had matured him. He was no longer the little annoying boy screaming all the time about how he was going to become hokage. Well he was also that boy but somehow he had also become … more. A shoulder to cry on when everything became too much and she just had to have a moment of weakness, a quick on his feet-sparring partner when she needed to vent her anger, and a good friend to talk to. How did that happen? Sakura thought to herself, as she moved to punch him in the shoulder. Naruto sidestepped her punch and stuck out his tongue. "You are so mean, Sakura-chan. You should listen to my great words of wisdoms, you know," he said laughingly. "If I listened to all of your great words of wisdom my ears would fall off," she said, teasingly. "Aww Sakura-chan," Naruto said clutching at his chest, "you know me so well".

After practice, Sakura made sure to grab Kakashi's attention. "Yes, Sakura, what's up?" he asked, lifting his eyes from his book. "I wanted to ask you something important," Sakura responded, as she moved her weight from one foot to the other. "I would like for you to teach me some earth-jutsus. I have decided to focus on and explore my affinity and leave the healing on the backburner for the time being. I need some offensive jutsus if I want to keep up with the boys. And I really want that. I don't want to be left in their shadows - I want to cast my own. Will you help me, Kakashi-Sensei, please? I promise to work really hard." Sakura finished her speech, folded her hands and looked at her Sensei's unreadable face. "Well well, Sakura, it sounds like you have put a lot of thought into this," Kakashi replied. "Of cause your old Sensei have a couple of earth-jutsus in his massive repertoire and I will gladly teach them to you. But the affinity tuning - well you will have to do most of that on your own. I can give you some pointers but I don't think it's a good idea for me to take part in it. You understand, don't you? Kakashi's one eye was staring fascinatingly intense at her. Sakura swallowed. "Yes, I totally understand," she said and bolted. Kakashi sighed.


	4. The experiment

Sakura left the training ground as fast as she could. She was elated that Kakashi had agreed to teach her some earth jutsus and sort of embarrassed by how the conversation had turned out. It wasn't like she had expected him to be part of the affinity tuning. That part was still new and made her feel unsure, breathless, and a bit excited. But he could have given her some real pointers - like how to approach it. Never mind - she could totally figure it out on her own. She decided to stop by the library and find some informative scrolls.

Sakura spend the better part of the afternoon checking out all the scrolls she had found. Some of them where dusty old tomes but that didn't matter to her - reading and information gathering was one of her strongest suits. Sakura made herself a strong cup of tea and picked up the first scroll. "How to commune with earth" it was called. It seemed like the pages had been turned many times - they were all fragile and had odd bends and folds. It described a simple exercise to get her started - she was to find a spot she felt comfortable and take her clothes of and lie down on the ground. Then she spread out her chakra as thinly as possible around her and gently push it into the ground until she could feel the pulse of the earth. "The pulse of the earth," she thought to herself, "what's that?". How was she supposed to feel something she didn't even know what was? The next book - "A trustworthy treatise on the matter of dirt" - wasn't much better. It was kind of boring and longwinded and then suddenly sudden phrases popped up that made her think the author might have had an earth-fetishist. She shuddered. Later, when she looked up from her pile of scrolls she noticed that it was dark outside. Her parents was on yet another mission so she hadn't been disturbed during her reading. Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to try out the exercise? The training ground should be unoccupied now and it wasn't like anybody would miss her.

Training ground 4 was big and had a couple of trees that almost that created kind of an overhang. The air was humid and the potent smell of wet soil made her toes curl in anticipation. Was she really going to do this? Be stark naked late at evening in a training ground where anyone could walk right in? She should probably make a couple of traps just in case someone decided they also liked this spot. She quickly rigged up a couple of basis traps - nothing too fatal but easy to overlook without any light. Then she took of her sandals. The ground was chilly and the fallen dew had made it damp. She didn't really feel anything. She tried to concentrate and recall the feeling from before but nothing happened. Then she took of her dress and her bindings. Then her shorts and her underwear. The chilly breeze gave her goosebumps all the way down her back. She took a deep breath and laid down. After a while, she started to feel silly. Here she was naked as the day she was born laying on the ground trying to hear the freaking pulse of the earth. All Sakura could hear when she closed her eyes was her own heart beating too fast. And she was getting muddy! It would probably make her sick! She sat up and bit her lip. If only Kakashi-Sensei was here - he would know what to do. Or that would probably be really weird. What could he do - guide her through a deep meditation, looking at her while she tuned her affinity? Perhaps holding her hand in a firm grip with his strong, callused hand, giving her an anchor while she let go and was vulnerable? Yes, that would be weird. Really, really weird, Sakura said to herself several times. Then she said it out loud, just in case the thought was resilient. Where did that come from? Sakura bid her lip again. He was kind of amazing though, her sensei. His deep, slow drawl and the almost lazy way he moved was such a sharp contrast to the way he was in the field. She had seen him take on three jonins and come out on top like it was nothing - moving like lightning, barking orders at Naruto, Sasuke and her and afterwards making sure she and her team was unhurt. And that dirty book of his must meen he had a libido even though she had never seen him with a woman - or a man. What did it take to make the copy ninja interested? Sakura suddenly felt a tingle on the back of her thigh. It felt like a hundred tiny pinches but not in a bad way. And then a wave hit her. It lifted her legs and made her arch her back. She could feel it now - the deep tromp of the earth rushing through her body. The waves kept hitting her and she couldn't keep up - it was too much. She was panting and her body felt like it was too small as wave after wave hit her. By the end, Sakura was screaming while her chakra began to glow around her major chakra points. It kept building and building and she couldn't make it stop! Her voice gave out. Then she closed her eyes and passed out.


	5. Naked

When Sakura opened her eyes, it was to the sound of birds singing. She felt wrecked - like when she had been sparring with Tsunade before she learned how to dodge. She could not feel the deep thumping of the earth anymore. What a relief. The pain had been immense and it had been way too intense. With Sakura's impressive control of chakra she was used to feel in control and she didn't appreciate this feeling of being taken over one bit.

This wasn't what she had imagined would happen when she started the training. Not at all. And at the same time she was determined to master her affinity - she had to, if she wanted to become to be taken seriously in a jounin battle. And she really wanted that. Never again would she be the damsel in distress - or the passive healer who couldn't help, when her boys where getting their asses handed to them. Super strength could only get her so far - who also had to be able to catch the opponent. She knew that she would never be a chakra powerhouse like Naruto or have the formidable repertoire of someone with a sharingan like Sasuke. But that only meant that she had to capitalize on her strengths - and getting totally in tune with her affinity would give her an extra edge. Besides when had a little pain ever deterred her? She was Tsunades apprentice for crying out loud! And cry out loud was just what she did when she tried to sit up. The stomach felt like molten pudding and her back like she had tried to do back flips while holding a building. Sakura swore and took a couple of deeps breaths.

"Are you ok, Sakura?" some nearby said.

And thats when she noticed she wasn't alone. That she was still naked and covered in mud in the middle of a training ground. And that she knew that voice quite well.

"How is this my life?" Sakura thought to herself. What came out of her mouth sounded a little more like:

"Ahhhh. Erhm. Yes. Yes! Peachy!"

She could see his dark silhouette somewhere to her right looking at her with a blank face. A dark eyebrow rose.

"Hn. And you are totally able to get up and get dressed, yes?"

Sakura looked down her muddied body. Then she looked Sasuke square in the eyes, and tried to reach her dress. She couldn't - not without getting up. And even stretching her arm felt like trying to use an overcooked noodle. She whimpered.

Sasuke bend down and collected her dress. It was soaked through and mildly smelling of mildew. His nose crinkled. Then he sighed, let the dress fall to the ground, lifted his arms and took of his T-shirt. Sakura sat still. It was surreal. Sasuke, her sullen childhood crush and heartbreaker, was taking of his shirt for her. What a remarkable sight. Strong, lean muscle corded his upper arms and chests with faded scars peppering his pale skin, shining milky in the rays of the morning sun. Most of the bigger scars where old now - from his brief stint with Orochimaru before they got him back. With some of the scars it was easy to identify the course - the long, narrow one sliding up his side and continuing over his back looked like some sort of whip, another like a faint acid burn. His low riding pants revealed his hipbones, and Sakura eyes followed the dip and curve. And Sasukes eyes followed hers. He smirked. Then he stepped closer.

"You are going to get sick if we don't get you warmed up, "He said. It felt almost anticlimactic when he dropped his shirt over her head and helped her get her arms through the sleeves. Then he picked her up.


End file.
